Delta's first turkey drive humble but helpful

Wednesday

Nov 21, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - It wasn't the biggest turkey drive in town this week. Forty-five frozen birds thrown in the back of a sport utility vehicle were given out to needy San Joaquin Delta College students Tuesday night in the Shima parking lot.

Alex Breitler

STOCKTON - It wasn't the biggest turkey drive in town this week. Forty-five frozen birds thrown in the back of a sport utility vehicle were given out to needy San Joaquin Delta College students Tuesday night in the Shima parking lot.

The humble effort, however, is part of a larger attempt by student leaders to reach out to their neediest peers all year long.

Delta's student body government wants to start a food pantry on campus to help students who are struggling to pay for tuition and books while still feeding their own families.

The need at Delta is obvious, those student leaders say. This is the place, after all, where folks often come during the most difficult times in their lives.

Some are older people who lost jobs in the recession and are struggling to start over. Others, including many first-generation college students, come from poor backgrounds to begin with.

Student leaders see this every day on campus. They asked: Why not get involved?

"There are people coming to school, and they can't afford to buy anything out of the cafeteria," said 44-year-old Mark Smith, a psychology student who dreamed up the food pantry as a student government leader last year.

"My heart goes out to a single mother, a single father," Smith added. "They're feeding the kids, going to school and trying to better themselves. Student government should be there with a helping hand."

Elizabeth Landa, the new student government vice president, took Smith's dream and made it happen. The college has been collecting canned foods, grains and cereals for more than a month and hopes to have enough to get the food pantry started in January.

Meanwhile, student government raised about $1,500 to pay for the turkeys. And a similar ham giveaway is planned for Christmas.

Students across campus received an email asking if they needed help with Thanksgiving dinner. More than 250 responded, far more than the 45 turkeys that were available.

Landa said that's simply more evidence of the need.

Students lined up a half-hour before Tuesday's giveaway. All but a few turkeys were gone within an hour.

"Most people were really thankful," Landa said later. "They say, 'My family is going to appreciate this.' "

The public can help by donating food or money. Ultimately, the pantry could open in January with limited hours on a drop-in basis.

Food donations (no perishables) can be left at the student government office in Shima 101F. Or send a check made out to the San Joaquin Delta College ASBG Food Pantry to the Office of Student Activities, 5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95207.